Rhode Island officials on guard as Trump tries to impose federal funding freeze
By Christopher Shea and Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current
UPDATE: The Trump regime withdrew the funding freeze order after massive nationwide backlash. Unknown: what Trump will do next and the status of the lawsuits by Rhode Island and other states to block this illegal action. - W. Collette
The maneuver also sabotaged a resolution introduced Tuesday afternoon by Rhode Island Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, congratulating Donald Trump on his “historic and extraordinary victory in the 2024 presidential election” and wishing him a successful presidency.
It’s a tradition in the Rhode Island Senate to send congratulations to the new commander in chief. If de la Cruz’s resolution had passed, it would have directed the secretary of state to send a certified copy to the president. Alas, it failed in a 21-14 vote. Ten Democrats joined the four Republican senators who voted yes.
In a statement issued late Tuesday night, de la Cruz said it had been her “sincere hope” that her colleagues would uphold the chamber’s tradition. “Despite being critical of policies of past Presidents, I have always wished them success — because I want America to succeed — to become strong, safe, healthy, prosperous, and great again,” she said.
A Senate resolution congratulating Joe Biden passed in 2021. And the House version sponsored by House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, a Foster Republican, passed Tuesday, as it did in 2017 after Trump’s first inauguration. There was no vote breakdown for the House resolution as the chamber approves all resolutions at the end of each session with a single voice vote, House spokesperson Larry Berman explained in an email.
The reason the Senate held a roll call vote for its resolution was because a senator objected to the voice vote, said Senate spokesperson Greg Paré.
“I object to this resolution because we are not in normal times,” said Sen. Sam Bell, a Providence Democrat, who objected to the voice vote. “For us to vote for a resolution praising Mr. Trump…it sends a message that Rhode Island would be saying, ‘Thank you for wrecking us, thank you for hurting our state government in a deep and painful way.’”
“The apocalyptic damage that is racing through our country from these insane, illegal executive orders hits at the soul of our country, because we are supposed to be a democracy,” Bell continued.
Bell was referring to a federal directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which first leaked Monday evening and soon consumed the workday as government officials and media alike scrambled to decipher the news. It was not immediately clear from the first memo’s ambiguous wording what programs would be affected. Funds which go toward “assistance provided directly to individuals” would be spared, as would Medicare and Social Security, according to the memo.
Federal funding accounts for nearly $5.1 billion of Rhode Island’s nearly $14 billion fiscal 2025 budget, which took effect July 1. McKee’s proposed fiscal 2026 spending plan relies on $25 million more in federal funds.
A second OMB memo obtained by States Newsroom included a list of programs which were required to submit their program data by Feb. 7. A third memo clarified that the freeze would chill funds for “programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest,” but also that “a pause could be as short as a day,” depending on the agency, and that many programs had been pre-approved before the pause would go into effect.
By afternoon, however, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., had ruled that any spending freeze must wait until at least next week until a Feb. 3 hearing.
Scurrying in the memo’s wake was Gov. Dan McKee, who directed state agencies Tuesday to review all programs and investments, both current and projected, that rely on federal funding to see what’s needed to preserve necessary funds, according to an email from his spokesperson Olivia DaRocha.
“Given the widespread harm the President’s order could inflict on Rhode Islanders, the Governor has also tasked the Director of Administration to work with the Attorney General’s office to explore all options for delaying the order’s implementation,” DaRocha said.
But the frozen funding would likely spare Medicaid, DaRocha said, as well as direct assistance programs like Social Security, Medicare and food stamps, at least according to the latest guidance the state had received from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Pell grants, Head Start and housing assistance are likely to remain in place.
The state’s Medicaid portal experienced a temporary “disruption of service,” Tuesday, but was back up and running soon after, DaRocha confirmed.
AG joins (another) suit against Trump
Three hours before the U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan ordered a short-term administrative stay, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed suit against the Trump administration over the planned funding freeze. Neronha joined 22 other Democratic attorneys general to request for a temporary restraining order against the planned freeze in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island in Providence.
“What a ham-handed way to run a government,” Neronha said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. “It is astonishing that President Trump, through an agency most Americans have never heard of, would take an action so clearly unlawful and would impact so many Americans in so many ways.”
The group of Democratic AGs argued that freezing funds already authorized by Congress violates the U.S. Constitution — especially if the funds are being reviewed on ideologically motivated grounds. According to the OMB guidance, the new federal direction is meant to “determine quickly whether any program is inconsistent with the President’s Executive Orders.”
“This action was necessary and it needed to happen quickly,” Neronha said. “Every American — every Rhode Islander is impacted by this.”
Neronha’s office is also part of a multi-state suit challenging Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.
Condemnation from congressional delegates
“This is very illegal,” U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner said in a video posted to X. “The president doesn’t get to just stop funding states and cities and schools for some vague reasons about woke ideology that have no definition in law.”
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse called the order a “power grab” from Project 2025 — the conservative blueprint created to guide Trump’s second term.
“Rhode Islanders pay their taxes and they expect to get a functioning federal government in return,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “It’s hard to tell if this is incompetence or mischief, but this funding freeze is illegal and unconstitutional, and every single American has a stake in getting it undone.”
U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo called Trump’s planned funding freeze “unlawful, chaotic, and deeply harmful to the entire country.”
“People will suffer at the hands of this decision,” Amo said in a statement. “Make no mistake, these are federal dollars, paid for by taxpayers, for taxpayers, and already approved by Congress to benefit red and blue state communities alike.”
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is demanding the president immediately rescind his administration’s directive.
“He needs to do it fast because every day this drags on the impacts grow worse,” Reed said in a statement. “He should stop wasting taxpayers’ money and putting people, communities, and essential services at risk.”
Several state and federal agencies contacted for comment on Tuesday did not immediately reply. Beth Bailey, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, which oversees higher education, said the office would wait until later in the week when more details would be available.
Trump’s administration sought to review funding toward suicide prevention and legal services grants for veterans.
Department of Veterans Affairs spokesperson Justyn Charon declined to comment on the freeze order in an emailed statement.
“At the local level, we remain focused on providing world-class health care and services to the veterans who have earned and deserve them,” Charon said.
Uncertainty over federal funding has also weighed heavily on Sojourner House in Providence, where federal funding accounts for 80% of its budget. The nonprofit provides victim service for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
“Without timely funding, we risk losing essential programs that provide life-saving services like emergency shelter, housing, and support for survivors seeking safety and stability,” Executive Director Vanessa Volz said in an emailed statement.
Cheryl Space, the director of the Community Libraries of Providence, said Tuesday afternoon that federal investments are not an outsized portion of the library network’s operating budget. The library network expects federal money for enhancements to the libraries’ children and teen collections — a $100,000 earmark won with the support of U.S. Sen. Jack Reed. Another federal investment, dispensed via the city of Providence, is a $125,000 grant to replace the HVAC system at the Mount Pleasant Library.
“What we don’t understand now is the potential ripple effect as Rhode Island, the City of Providence, or other program partners cope with federal cuts that may impact library funding,” Space said.
What about the Washington Bridge?
Also threatened: $600 million in federal funding for Rhode Island’s highway projects, including $220 million awarded by the Biden administration last year to rebuild the westbound Washington Bridge.
Rhode Island’s congressional delegation over the weekend sent a letter to the White House’s budget office asking to confirm that the infrastructure funds will be released to the state.
“These are essential projects that have already been evaluated and selected in a competitive process for funding,” the delegates wrote. “We ask that you promptly confirm that all of these funds, as well as others being held for review, will be released to the state.”
Rich Luchette, a D.C.-based political strategist and former spokesman for former U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, said while there are administrative ways to pause funding, it’s difficult to do so when money is already obligated.
Luchette also thought it was unlikely highway funding would ever be held up.
“It’s the most bipartisan issue in this town,” he said in an interview Monday.
If funds are held up, McKee told WPRO’s Matt Allen Monday afternoon that the state can tap into $80 million allotted by the General Assembly under the fiscal year 2025 budget to rebuild the bridge. Rhode Island is eligible for up to $334.6 million in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles (GARVEE) bonds, which allow the state to borrow against future allocations of federal transportation money.
Roughly $140 million in borrowing was authorized by Rhode Island Commerce in July.
“We have a plan on the finances,” McKee said Monday.
This article was updated to include a comment from Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz, and add context on the Senate tradition of congratulating new presidents.
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Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
